JDHS girls' fall to Lynx, beat Colony

The Juneau-Douglas High School girls’ soccer team hit a speed bump on their road record at Anchorage this week. Used to playing on turf, the Crimson Bears got a taste of two bumpy, grassy speed bumps.

On Wednesday the Crimson Bears (4-4-2) fell to the top team in the Cook Inlet Conference, the Dimond Lynx, 4-0. JDHS trailed 1-0 at the break and the Lynx scored three times in the second half for the win.

“There was a ten minute window where we let three goals in,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said. “Dimond is a good team this year for sure.”

Senior midfielder Chrish Newell received the Crimson Bears’ Hard Hat award for the game. Dimond’s freshman goalkeeper Ruth Ann Lomu got the shutout in the nonconference win at Dimond Alumni Field. Aaliyah Lewis scored twice and Leah Swiss and Ariela Lewis each scored once for the Lynx, who improved to 10-0-1.

Against Colony the Crimson Bears took control of the pitch after a scoreless first half and a Knights score in the second. Senior Solana Ashe scored with 10-minutes remaining on an assist by sophomore Kymber Kelly to tie the score. Rebekka Ord then scored the game winner with three minutes remaining in the contest on an assist by Ashe.

“No excuses but when you are used to playing on a turf field and then get on a field with bumps and such it plays a little different,” Dusenberry said. “It makes for a different game. It makes for an interesting game.”

Many Anchorage and Valley schools are replacing their grass pitches after the season to turf; this will allow their outdoor seasons to begin earlier and without rough field conditions.

JDHS adapted to the conditions well. Kelly played the ball from the back line in a diagonal pass to give Ashe a better opportunity to receive it. Ashe collected the pass and took on the back line, got through and buried a score. Colony began a physical pushing up style of play, which the Bears capitalized on to quickly counter for the winning score. Ashe turned and played a passed ball into space, Ord collected it and had a one-on-one with the Knights all-state goalie Jaden Chew. Ord put a nice kick past Chew for the win.